Patient complaint: Persistent pain in shin, even though initial first aid had been applied. She described the injury as “ I bashed my shin into a table and then a bit later found myself running into obstacles in a darkened corridor. Ran into a piece of buckled bulkhead.”

Dr Cassidy verified that the pain was limited to the shin. And proceeded with the following exam, diagnosis and treatment.

Dr Cassidy pulled the compact medical tricorder from its rack at the head of the biobed. She floated the instrument over the leg that was favored, from well above the thigh to below the bottom of the foot. She ran it the length of the other leg as well. Lastly, she made a slow pass over the woman's torso, scanning her hip bones and the position and condition of her spine.

Her comments to the patient: “Rest and anti-inflammatories are an excellent course of treatment. But I believe we have a bit of a fracture. More a length-wise split, if you will. Not broken in two. Just a hairline to start with, but as you have continued to stress it by using it, it has slowly extended the split up and down the tibia from the original point of trauma. A little nudge to bone regeneration and a dose of Metorapan will fix you right up. I'll prescribe a bit of taking it easy, some more standard ibuprofen and it'll give you no more trouble. Does ibuprofen upset your stomach if you take if for a day or two?"

Jia opened a nearby drawer and retrieved a flexible white pad, perhaps 300 mm square (12 inches). She pinched the control panel set into the flexible surface at one corner and placed it over Talia's shin. While it did its silent, painless job of encouraging bone tissue regeneration, the doctor prepared a very small dose of Metorapan, an analgesic specifically intended for use in bone repair. With a quick 'psst', the hypo-spray sent the drug into the soft tissue beneath Talia's ear. A quick entry on the Rx dispenser [located in the Infirmary lab], accompanied by a thumbprint scan to verify the prescribing physician and 8 tiny blue tabs were dispensed in a clear 'baggie', properly labeled with identification, patient name, and dosage instructions. Jia plucked the little bag from the dispenser outlet and delivered it to Cmdr Brennan.

"Take two before bed at night for 3 days. I think you'll be fine by then for sure, but gave you 2 extra in case you need them." She ran the tricorded over Talia's shin again and nodded. Removing the pad from the shin, she added "I'm also giving you a small, single use version of this stimulator to use as we have just done, as well as an icy pad." She handed her two thin sealed pouches. "Use them both before bed tonight. They activate upon being opened. Use the stimulator first - pink wrapper - for 10 minutes, then open the icy one - blue - , and just relax for 20 minutes.”

The doctor then administered an icy pack while the patient was present in the Infirmary. Upon ripping the cover off, the bag immediately began to chill. She placed a layer of toweling over Talia's shin and gently placed the pack over the top. Finally, the Doctor gave the patient instructions to return the following day.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum